Cling to You
by thatblue
Summary: <html><head></head>Possible series of silly fics of the Doctor and Donna. Some romance, some friendship.</html>
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor had his feet resting against the grating- one of them tapping in time with the music that floated around the console room. Donna glanced at his feet, and slowly approached, holding two mugs of tea.

The Doctor was humming along, oblivious to her presence as he usually was when he was working on the TARDIS. She wouldn't have bothered him at all, if it wasn't the fact that she was bored- simple as that. Reading didn't hold any appeal today, and she had already wandered the TARDIS for some time, before she decided to bribe him with tea.

With any luck, he'd take her somewhere. She didn't even think she'd mind another swampy mess, or hours in the rain today.

"Doctor?" she called out, over the music. "I brought tea."

She had also brought a banana, in case he needed extra motivation, but she thought it was best to start low, and work her way up.

She heard a grunt, and then a zapping noise, followed by his feet quickly being withdrawn. She didn't know the exact translation of the next words that spewed from his mouth, but the tone was enough for her to understand their meaning.

She winced for him, as he appeared, shaking his hand. She blinked, and the feeling of guilt at causing him pain faded rapidly.

His hair was sticking up more than normal, trying to reach for the ceiling of the TARDIS with impressive tenacity.

"You caused me to get shocked," the Doctor whined.

"Sorry," Donna said, ,though she couldn't stop the grin. "Come on, tea...and a banana."

He brightened nearly at once, the zap seemingly forgotten, though his hair suggested there was no forgetting.

She sat the mugs on the jump seat, reaching over to help pull him from the grating, when she quickly yanked her hands back.

He'd shared his static with her, it seemed. She huffed, looking him over.

"Sorry," he said, but he was beaming at her. "I know I can be a bit shocking."

She shook her head, grabbing his mug and pushing it off to him. He took it happily, turning and flopping down on the seat, before jumping back up.

"Ow!" he said, pouting and instead holding still, away from anything, while he gulped down the tea.

"Is that going to go away?" she asked, motioning to him, sipping her tea.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I'm sure...at some point. Actually, I'll just pop off down the hall, and see if I can speed it along."

"Want some help?" she asked, smiling at him.

"No!" he said, quickly, shaking his head. "No...I mean, I'm fine, thanks. Won't take a moment, and we can...go."

He sat the mug down carefully, and hurried off. From the hall she heard another loud 'ow!' and she rose, gathering up the dishes.

Donna decided to give him a few minutes, as she wasn't entirely sure what his plan to rid himself of his charge would involve, and then she'd try to find him.

She washed up the dishes, lingering in the kitchen, waiting for him to come to her instead of the other way around.

She heard feet shuffling, and the repeated sighing of someone who was completely fed up with their current situation.

The Doctor appeared and as much as she wanted to be sympathetic to him, she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up. He was covered in balloons. The brightest colors seemed to be clinging to his dark hair, and he kept batting one away from his face, to ensure he was still able to glare at her.

"This isn't funny," he said, batting at the deep purple balloon. "Don't just stand there, come help me."

She nodded, sniffing softly, and coming over. Every other step a giggle slipped to her lips, and she couldn't contain them all.

He'd bat and glare, but otherwise remained oddly silent for him. She started to pull the balloons away from him, pushing them off into the hall so they didn't quickly return to his side.

After the third balloon, and the third shock, she huffed.

"Why do you even have this many balloons?" she asked. "Do you have a whole room of them?"

"A room, Donna," he said, trying to help her, as the balloon slid back over to him. "Don't be silly." He looked her over, and then smiled slightly. "At least two or three of them."

"Martians," she muttered, going back to working on him.

He ignored her, wisely, and went back to trying to rid himself of the seemingly never-ending attachments.

"Ow!" She said. "Stopped shocking me, Spaceman!"

He huffed loudly, rolling his eyes.

"I can't help it, you know?" he said. "I'm a bit distracted by all these balloons."

She glared, before returning to work.

"Alright," she said. "I give. Why do you have rooms of balloons? Like to hold parties for yourself? Roll around in them when no one is looking? Go on, tell me, I won't judge."

He looked her over.

"No," he said, simply, as she pulled off the last balloon.

"Well, what then?" she asked, leaning against the door frame.

"I..." he said, hesitating, and attempting to push his hair down. She watched as it slowly rose again, and she waited. "For...birthdays?"

"Your birthday is coming up?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell me."

He blinked, surprise filling his features.

"Not mine, Donna," he said, in a gentle tone that made her breath seem to catch. "Yours."

She started to shake her head, before realizing. If she'd been back on Earth, it would be tomorrow. With everything that had happened, she had simple lost track of time. It wasn't as it had mattered all that much back then, in that life.

Any celebration, was planned, and executed by her own hand.

She cleared her throat, looking away.

"Don't do that, Donna," he said, in that same gentle tone. "We're supposed to be celebrating."

"Why?" she asked, unsure of how to feel. She hadn't bothered to remember, why should he?

He looked at her for a moment, his face so serious she could forget the crazy hair and the normally wild eyes. Now they seemed to be filled with sadness, but without pity.

Then he smiled.

"I really thought you knew," he said, shaking her head.

"Knew what?" she asked, starting to look away.

"Look at me?" he asked, and waited until she did. "Thanks. Now, why? Because you're amazing, because you take my breath away. And because you deserve it."

"Oh, stop it," Donna muttered.

"No!" he said, his eyes suddenly filling with light. "Donna Noble! I'm so attracted to you. I come into your presence and I feel a spark .I was shocked to find someone like you, and you have the power to be my equal. My real equal, Donna. Your hair is stunning, and your smile can illuminate the darkest parts of this old soul."

She preceded to hit him, repeatedly in the arm.

"Why are you hitting me?" he asked, stepping away."I was being honest."

"Did you just flirt with me in puns?!" she asked, not nearly as angry as she was pretending.

"No, Donna," he said, his face serious. "I just confessed my love for you...in puns."

"I think I hate you," she said, crossing her arms.

"I think I have cake," he said. "So...maybe we can work on the cake...and a redo, without the puns."

"Let's start with the cake," she said, nodding.

"Brilliant!" he said. "Come on, I got four rooms of balloons to show you."


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor ducked the snowball that he was certain had been aimed right at the back of his already damp hair. Sure enough, it landed in the snow in front of him, and he glared back at Donna. Her nose was bright red, and she returned his glare with a fire that he wished could be harnessed to melt the snow around him.

"Stop that, Donna," he said, trying not to lose his last shred of patience with the redhead behind him.

Oh, it wasn't all her. It was all the snow. It was the hours of stomping his way through the growing drifts, hopelessly lost in the middle of this snow storm. The ice skates still hung over their shoulders, though he had considered abandoning them about an hour back, after the snow balls had started.

He knew he ought to just let her take it out on him. He should have known better, he was a genius, as she had pointed out with growing sarcasm. At this point it was pouring out of her at a rate that would add a nice chilly layer to the snow they were trampling through.

"I thought you had a connection to the TARDIS," she said. "Shouldn't you be able to do some brain thing and find her?"

The Doctor stopped short. He took in a slow breath, that burned on the way into his lungs. And that was enough to settle the storm within him just a bit- it had to be worse for Donna, this cold.

He turned to look at her. His fingers ached, despite the fact that she had been insistent that he had worn the gloves that now protected them. Her hair was sticking to her cheeks, even though her hood had been up as often as the wind would allow.

"Some sort of brain thing?" the Doctor asked.

She nodded, tapping her own head with an accusing glare.

"Donna," the Doctor said, trying remain calm. "Do you feel you and I have a connection? That'd I'd do anything to keep you safe, and you'd do the same for me? That we love each other with no conditions?"

"At this moment?" Donna asked, before sneezing pitifully.

"Answer the question, Donna," the Doctor said, digging in his pockets for a tissue, hoping he'd find something useful in the depths.

If nothing else it was a distraction, so he didn't have to look at her and feel guilt instead of anger.

"Yeah," Donna agreed. "What's your point?"

"My point is could you find me in a snowstorm?" he said.

She glared, accepting the tissue he had produced. He sighed, turning and squinting. He'd give anything to see the TARDIS, to stomp his way out of her line of sight and into his warmest clothes.

They needed a break from each other. In a day, or a year, he'd apologize for being a git, and an idiot, and the long list of the things he'd been in the last couple hours. He'd lost his temper, when all this had started, and deserved at least half the snowballs that had been launched at him.

One hit his back, and he spun on her.

"Let's have it out, then?"

Donna blinked.

"Do what?" she asked.

"You wanna fight about this?" he said, crossing his arms. "You wanna be mad at me? Well, I am angry with you. So let's get it out of the way, so we can actually find the TARDIS."

"Have you gone mad?" Donna asked, looking him over.

"Oh, a long time ago," he said, stomping a bit away, and leaning down and starting to build a wall between them to duck behind.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking rightly suspicious.

"I'm tired of having snowballs launched at me," he said, simply. "So we're going to have a good old snowball fight- been solving problems for thousands of years on some planets- and then we can both focus on getting home."

She stood there for a moment, and he was worried that she wasn't going to go for it. And he knew they shouldn't be wasting time out here in the snow. But the truth was, the cold wasn't dangerous, just uncomfortable. And he thought they were finally on the right path for the TARDIS. A few minutes wasn't going to make all that much difference, and maybe they wouldn't have a full on fight when they returned to the TARDIS.

"Fine," she said, dropping to her knees and starting to pile into the snow.

There were planets they couldn't do this. Planets where the snow was alive, and he'd never dream of packing it into a tight little ball. But it wasn't this one, and as she sunk into the snow, he watched her. Her hood blew off once again, her hair dancing in the wind, he realized he wasn't all that angry. He was scared. Scared that he'd never get her back to the TARDIS, that this cold would shift and become something that would steal her away.

And he realized he didn't want to throw these snowballs at anyone but himself for getting them so lost, and for not knowing the weather... but he had proposed the fight. And she was building her arsenal and he continued to stack snowballs to his side.

He glanced at her from time to time. Her cheeks were red, her eyes cast down in concentration. She looked beautiful...she was beautiful.

She stood up quickly, and he snapped his eyes to the sky.

"I'm ready," she said.

He picked up a snowball, and nodded.

"Go!" he shouted, tossing it at her.

She picked up one of hers, throwing it and it hitting his shoulder.

It crumbled on impact, and a smile flashed across her face. He looked down at it, as another hit his chest. A laugh burst up out of him, and he threw another at her. They continued on with half the effort, and the piles of snow that never reached each other was all the evidence he needed that they were going to be fine.

When their small piles were gone, she stepped over the short wall that divided them and he did the same. She slowly made her way over, and wrapped her arms around him. He held her for a moment, the wind picking up around their bodies. The Doctor took in a breath and leaned back, pulling her hood up.

"That's better," he said, gently.

She looked up at him.

"You still owe me somewhere warm," she said, poking his chest.

"I do," he agreed, nodding.

"And something fruity," she said. "Lots of the fruity drinks."

"As many as you like," he said, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"I'm sorry,' she said, when he pulled back.

"Me too,' he said.

"Did I ever tell you about the great snow war on Snow White 3," the Doctor said, pressing a kiss to her head.

"I don't wanna hear about snow right now," Donna said, squeezing his hand.

He took her hand gently, leading her on in the direction they had been heading before they stopped. He waited, hoping she'd take the bait.

Finally she looked at him.

"Snow White 3," she repeated.

"Snow White 3," he said, with a grin. "Biggest snow ball war in history."

"Are you making this up?" Donna asked.

"Maybe," he said, looking ahead. "Wanna hear the story?"

There was another pause, as the snow seemed to fall harder. But he could feel the TARDIS nearing, and with Donna close he didn't feel so cold.

"Always," she finally said.


	3. Chapter 3

Donna was settled into a soft booth, leaning back against it. The Doctor was across the table, with a map and two bright blue fizzy drinks separating them. She was watching his hands, one holding the map down, while the other drew an imaginary line to their destination.

He wouldn't admit they were lost, but when he bought the map she was as good as convinced that he had no idea where this theme park they were supposed to visiting was located.

The first hiccup was largely silent, a quick spasm in her chest and she held a hand up to her mouth. The Doctor was too busy to notice, but she reached for the vibrantly colored drink before them to head off another one that could produce a noise.

The drink, was sweet, an odd combinations of fruits she wasn't sure she could name- but she had barely swallowed when the next hiccup hit her.

"EHP!"

The Doctor jerked his head up, concern filling his eyes.

"Alright?" he asked, looking her over.

"Fine, fin-ehp!" she said.

She let out a sigh, sipping at her soda again. The Doctor nodded at her, giving her a grin.

"The drink ought to help," he agreed, and returned his attention to the map. "If we take a right out of here, and continue -ehp!"

Donna blinked, and the Doctor looked just as surprised. He slapped a hand to his chest, looking down at it as he let out another hiccup, as if was betraying him and his Time Lord dignity.

"Ehp!" Donna followed, pushing the cup away.

She wouldn't go so far as to say it was the culprit, but she was getting a nagging suspicion. Either that or they were being affected by some sort of pollen, and it had better not be the sort she had found in the Doctor's story, that she had stumbled across that night.

"Right," the Doctor said, nodding. He had a look of intense concentration on his face, and she realized he was concentrating on not letting another hiccup slip past his lips. He failed. Though, it wasn't as if she was doing any better.

The Doctor stood, reaching deep into one of his coat pockets. He pulled out a handful of small red things that looked like bright buttons, and tossed them onto the table. He let out a huff, and let out the loudest hiccup yet, even as she slapped a hand over her mouth to try to keep hers from turning all the heads in the diner again- and that was a lot of heads.

The Doctor grabbed the carefully spread out map….and shoved it into his pocket before taking her hand. He tugged her along, his brow furrowed.

"Thank you!" she managed to call out, as he tugged her out onto the dusty street.

The town-a strange mix of modern and historic- was passing rapidly as he pulled her along. Neither of them could manage more than a step or two before erupting in a loud noise, that seemed to attract the attention of all those they passed.

"Is this a crime?" Donna asked, feeling as though the attention they were drawing...was not all of the good variety.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Course-ehp- not."

"Oh, no," she said. "We've- ehp- been poisoned haven't we. That's what -ehp- this is?!"

"No, Donna!" he said, huffing and hiccupping. "Something has simply irritated-ehp- oh never mind."

Donna was thankful for the moment, that she was spared his long winded explanation of why they now had the hiccups. The TARDIS came into sight, and she felt a wave of relief. He'd figure this out. She trusted in the Doctor, even when she struggled with her belief in anyone.

He'd get them inside, and to that large med-bay he had and give them something to set them straight. She let out a loud hiccup and was thankful relief was within steps.

The Doctor pushed the door open, and pulled her inside.

To her surprise though, he kept walking. He walked right past the med-bay, and on to the kitchen. Donna blinked.

"Aren't we -ehp- gonna go to the med-bay," she asked, as he released her hand.

"Best thing," he said, before he had to pause. When he could speak again, he nodded. "Is to do this without-ehp- medicine."

She nodded. Donna would have preferred some space cure for what ailed them, but she had to imagine-in this case- the Doctor knew what he has talking about. He pulled out a jar, and it took her a moment to realize it was peanut butter. She only really kept it around for baking, but now he was undoing the lid. He tossed it on the counter, digging in the drawer for a spoon, like a man desperate for the contents of the jar.

He shoved the spoon into the jar, pulling it up covered in a heap of peanut butter. She expected him to shove it right into his mouth, in a hopes to stop the hiccups, but he held it out to her.

"You...first," he managed.

She took the spoon, sliding it into her mouth. It was hard to get down without liquid, but even as he was grabbing a spoon for himself, she had high hopes. She hadn't heard of this remedy, but sometimes those were the ones that worked the best.

She chased it with a gulp of water, but had just swallowed, when she let out a loud and somewhat painful hiccup.

"Damn," she muttered.

The Doctor huffed, tossing the peanut butter jar on the table.

"Let's see," he said, running his hands through his hair. "What else...what else?"

The Doctor paced back and forth, and Donna had a filling growing deep inside, past the hiccups and into the spot reserved to the Doctor's bad plans. Sure enough, a few minutes later, he was holding her legs in the air, with her head on a pillow. Next to her hand, was a glass of water.

"How -ehp- the hell am I supposed to do this!?" she asked, picking up the glass.

He let out an awkward shrug, holding her legs tightly to him. She glared up at him, as well as she could, and attempted to drink from the glass. It poured out, touching her lips, before running out more quickly than she intended. It filled her nose and she jerked, flopping away from the Doctor who released her a moment too late to avoid a foot to the face.

She quickly shook her head, on all fours, trying to get a breath through her nose. The Doctor was holding his cheek, and she slowly climbed to her feet, hiccupping loudly.

"I want space drugs," she gritted out.

The Doctor huffed, lowering his hand.

"I don't want to chance it! " he said, followed by a hiccup. "It could react to something in the drink...I'd rather us get over this on our own."

She glared and looked around the room.

"How?!" she asked.

"I don't know!" he admitted.

She tapped her foot for a moment, and then grabbed his jacket. She pulled him close, pressing her lips to his.

He stood there for a moment, and then pulled her a little closer. Something inside of her lit, while another part faded. As she pulled away, she was relieved to find it was the hiccups that had passed. She would have done that from the beginning, had she known it would work.

"D..Donna," the Doctor said, straightening his tie. He looked rumpled, but she couldn't deny the pleased look on his face. And he was making no noise outside of his breathing.

"Just had to hold our breaths, eh, Spaceman?" she asked, heading out of the room.


End file.
